Community Corner

Winchester Public Library Launches New Website

Winchester Public Library launched its new website this week.

Winchester Public Library launched their new website on Monday, according to the library's newsletter.

The website overhaul cost nearly $6,000 and was fully funded by the Friends of the Winchester Public Library, according to Library Director Ann Wirtanen. Acton-based DG Communications was tasked with website project, she added.

"(The website) is well organized so it is easy to locate the eLibrary at the top, and downloading eBooks, streaming music and our databases are easily identifiable where they were somewhat buried before," Wirtanen said. "Our previous homepage was too full and too dense so what we have done is organized it, highlighting the things people want."

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As part of a five-year strategic plan, the library sought to improve their "very cluttered old site," Wirtanen said in an interview with Winchester Patch Wednesday. The library also conducted a survey last spring to identify the needs of the community, including a place on the website where people can reserve a meeting room, she said.

The website planning began in March 2012, followed by finding a company to handle the project in June and July of last year, according to Wirtanen. Of the work DG Communications did on the project, she said, "We are very, very pleased. There was a lot of planning on the front section and they did a great job putting it all together."

Find out what's happening in Winchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The library is encouraging readers to "check out the 'eLibrary' menu to see all of our online resources in one place," reads the newsletter.

A weekly list of new items can be found in the "Books & Media" menu, according to the newsletter.

Among the things you can do on the newly designed homepage are view library hours and upcoming events, reserve a room, renew a book, volunteer and join a book club.

An events calendar, museum passes (for Winchester residents only), catalog and other databases are also available on the library site. 

On the children's page, there is now a children's blog, Wirtanen said.

As for future plans for site, Wirtanen said, "This new website will make it very easy for us to add more features as they come along. We are seriously looking at adding downloadable music as well as streaming music that we have now. The streaming music we offer now is more classical and jazz, and we're looking at adding a popular component and it is easy because we have a place to put it now."


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